


you'll never wait so long

by the_silverdoe



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Keith's Birthday Week 2017, Long distance and Reunions, M/M, Shiro just wants to spoil his boy ok, Surprise Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-23
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-21 14:39:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12459867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_silverdoe/pseuds/the_silverdoe
Summary: Shiro & team plan a surprise party for Keith. Long distance college fluff ensues.“Hold up,” Shiro says, lifting a hand to silence Lance. Keith’s next few texts are rolling in, one after another. Shiro picks up from where he left off: “‘Then another twenty if the bus gets here on time… Also, nice about your roommates being gone. Just means when I get there, I’ll get to—’”He cuts off with a sharp intake of breath as the direction of the last message dawns on him before his eyes reach the end of the sentence. At the final words“until morning,”the blood rushes to his face. The temperature in the room suddenly seems much warmer.





	you'll never wait so long

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! This is the fic I wrote for Keith's birthday exchange [@vldexchange](https://vldexchange.tumblr.com/) this year! Happy birthday to our favorite knife boy! The bae of marmora and of our hearts <3
> 
> This fic was written for [@aquasunshine](https://aquasunshine.tumblr.com/), who asked mainly for domestic Sheith and/or Shiro and the team throwing Keith a surprise party. I hope that this college dating Sheith qualifies as domestic, lmao. Other than that, I saw their art [here](http://aquasunshine.tumblr.com/post/162069987134/the-front-of-my-eyes-are-filled-with-miracles-i) and decided to let those things inspire me a bit too! Go check out aquasunshine though, their art is seriously so sweet! <3
> 
> Other FYI: I don't know if I personally find sunflowers to be a Sheith flower but I really liked the description aquasunshine gave in their art [here](http://aquasunshine.tumblr.com/post/160730257354/the-sunflower-moves-itself-in-the-most-direct) so I included that in the fic as a bit of an easter egg. ;)
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy! :)

 

Depending on what lies at the end of a wait, two weeks can pass by at very different speeds.

The summer after Shiro’s third year of college (and Keith’s first) started at a normal pace. Coming back to the same city free of classes and homework and the stress of finals, the first two weeks cruised by like a gentle breeze. They had all the time in the world to catch up. All was well.

In the weeks leading up to the new school year, however, time flew by way too fast. Their final fourteen days were filled with afternoon daytrips, late night coffee runs, and quiet evenings spent curled up with Keith in Shiro’s new apartment. Time was an illusion then. Every second spent with Keith passed like sand slipping through an hourglass faster than Shiro could hold on to them, and yet, each moment had been drawn out and magnified, picked apart with care as Shiro turned them over and over in his mind.

Time is against them now, and has been for the past two weeks. Separated by different colleges and different cities, neither of them have had the time to visit one another since the start of school. It’s only recently that Keith sprung the good news about making the trek for his birthday weekend. But as excited as Shiro is to have a reunion to look forward to, the last few days of sitting through classes, webcamming one another, and sighing heavily every time they had to say goodbye dragged on slower and more torturously than ever before.

Fortunately, the end of the wait is finally drawing near.

 

**K ♡**

\---- Fri, Oct. 23, 4:23 PM ----

_hey_

_just got to train station_

_next should be here in like 4 min_

_see you soon <3 _

Finally :)

Btw, meant to tell you this last night but

Lance had to borrow my car last minute. Says it’s an emergency

Point is. Probably can’t pick you up from the station tonight. Any chance you can take the bus?

Sorry :(

_wtf lance why???_

_““““““emergency””””””_

_ >:[ _

Haha don’t be mad <3 I’ll see you in like 2 hrs okay?

Happy birthday :*

 

“I told him you needed to borrow my car for an emergency,” Shiro says to Lance once he looks up from his phone. “And so I can't pick him up.”

“What?!” Lance yelps. “Why me?”

“Because it'll annoy him the most,” Shiro replies simply. When Lance continues to glare at him, he adds with a chuckle, “It'll make the surprise that much sweeter.”

“Seriously?” Lance groans. “I can't believe I'm being used for other people’s romantic gestures — I'm like the most romantic one in this house! How is this even fair?”

“Shiro’s the one throwing a surprise birthday party for Keith and you're saying _you're_ the most romantic one here?” Pidge asks.

Despite standing on a step stool, she still needs to tiptoe and stretch her arms up in order to tape crepe streamers onto the wall. Shiro’s not sure why she, the shortest person in their group, had picked the one task that requires height, but when Lance passes by and tries to glare down at her, he understands. With the support of the step stool, Pidge comes up slightly taller than Lance, weakening the effect of his usual stare down.

“Please, if I had a partner I'd be throwing them the party of their _lives_ on their birthday,” he tells her.

“ _If,_ ” Pidge stresses with a smirk.

“The fullness of my potential just hasn’t been recognized yet,” Lance sniffs.

“That’s a new way of admitting you’ve been single for too long.”

“Come on, guys, seriously?” Hunk chimes in before Lance can retort. Carrying two bowls of snacks out to the living room, he wiggles in between Pidge and Lance on his way to the coffee table. “Why are we arguing about this?”

“Thanks to Shiro, Keith’s probably mad at me for something I didn’t do,” Lance says. “All for the sake of _romance._ ”

“Shiro does have the added factor of going to a different school than Keith,” Hunk says, considering. “He's gotta make today special.”

The bickering continues. Shiro shakes his head at them before looking down at his phone again. It’s lit up with more new texts from Keith. Swiping to unlock, he reads.

 

_at least your roommates are gone right?_

_got the apartment to ourselves?_

_oh shit boarding now_

_see u_

Yeah they went home. Let me know when you’re almost at the station though yeah?

 

Shiro watches the message bubble go through before returning to the conversation at hand.

“... still been easier if Keith had just chosen to attend Altea University with us,” he hears Allura say from the kitchen. “Then we wouldn't have had to deal with Shiro missing him all the time.”

“Come on, we've been over this before,” Shiro defends. “U of Marmora just happened to specialize in the field he wanted to study, on top of giving him a full ride. He had to take it.”

“We know, Shiro, we know,” Lance says with an exasperated expression on his face that clearly reads _if I have to listen to you talk about this one more time, I swear to God._

Unfortunately for Shiro, Allura’s right. Things would’ve been a lot easier if Keith had just gone to a school closer by. Although Hunk and Pidge don’t go to Altea University either, neither Balmera Tech nor Olkari Institute are as far away as U of Marmora. As happy as Shiro was to hear about Keith getting a full ride, the prospect of spending three or four more years in a different city than Keith was admittedly a little disappointing. Furthermore, the agreement to see each other at least once a month often didn’t feel like enough, even if Keith slept over the whole weekend.

On the other hand, an hour and a half train ride isn’t the worst thing that could come between them. It just isn’t quite as easy as Hunk walking to Shay’s neighboring dorm whenever he feels like it.

“Man, you’ve got it bad,” Lance says, eyeing him with a raised brow and a pitying expression. Shiro hurries to rearrange his face but it’s too late. Lance has seen it all.

“Just help Allura with the cake, will you?” Shiro deflects as he walks up to Pidge. Taking the streamer and tape from her hands, he sticks the final ends of the streamer up in the corner of the wall without the help of a step stool.

Once Pidge hops off the stool to go and inspect what kind of alcoholic punch Hunk is mixing, Shiro pulls out his phone once again to check for any new messages.

His heart sinks a little when he sees nothing but the time and the lock screen photo he took of Keith sleeping a few weeks back. Shiro shouldn’t be too surprised, he reminds himself. Keith loves reading on the train. He’ll respond when he responds.

“Shiro, can you come taste this frosting?” Allura asks. “If I remember correctly, Keith prefers things on the less sweet side?”

“Yeah,” Shiro replies, stowing his phone back in his pocket. “Be there in a sec.”

— * —

_Alright, here's the plan:_

_4:00 - Gather. Bring all necessary supplies and ingredients to my apartment (items listed below)_

_4:27 - Keith’s train scheduled to leave (unless he misses that one, the next train is at 4:42)_

_4:00-5:30 - Set everything up, prep the food, bake the cake (Allura you've got that recipe right?), set up the drink stations, etc. (Lance you can be DJ)_

_6:15-6:25 - Keith should be arriving between here_

_6:30-end of the night - Party time_

 

Shiro scrolls through their group email chain on his phone, trying to find any details he may have missed. After looking through the grocery list at the bottom of the thread, he confirms that there isn't anything they've forgotten to get.

Aside from the finishing touches, they now just needed to wait for Keith.

“I believe the cake is nearly ready!” Allura says, clasping her hands in excitement. “Hunk, how is the rest of the edible arrangements looking?”

“Think we’re all good,” Hunk replies with an approving nod at the various tables stationed around the apartment, each holding dishes with a wide selection of hors d'oeuvres.

“How much longer for the cake?” Shiro asks.

“It's got 7 minutes left on the oven,” she reports. “Then I'll just need to take it out, let it cool, and lather it with frosting.”

“Sounds good,” he nods. “So the food’s ready, the cake’s on the way, decorations look good,” Shiro lists off. He turns around in place, scanning the area with a finger on his chin. “Music’s playing, alcohol’s mixed… think that’s about it?”

“What’s his ETA now?” Hunk asks with a glance up at the clock. “It’s been almost an hour right? So about forty five-ish more minutes, including the bus ride here?”

“Something like that,” Shiro nods. “Let me check.”

Pulling out his phone and unlocking it, he types a new message to follow up his last unresponded one.

 

**K ♡**

\---- Fri, Oct. 23, 5:26 PM ----

Hey how’s the train ride going?

_oops didnt see the last text_

_( ._ **_._ ** _. )_

 

“Oh, wait, he’s texting me back right now,” Shiro announces as he watches Keith’s _‘currently typing’_ bubble bob up and down. The others look up at him expectantly as his phone buzzes again.

“ _‘Just passed that one nuclear boob-shaped power plant not too long ago…so roughly twenty five min until the station…’_ ” Shiro pauses at the next typing bubble as Lance snickers, _“Oh my god, I forgot that existed!”_

“Hold up,” Shiro says, lifting a hand to silence Lance. Keith’s next few texts are rolling in, one after another. Shiro picks up from where he left off: “ _‘Then another twenty if the bus gets here on time… Also, nice about your roommates being gone. Just means when I get there, I’ll get to—’_ ”

He cuts off with a sharp intake of breath as the direction of the last message dawns on him before his eyes reach the end of the sentence. At the final words _“until morning,”_ the blood rushes to his face. The temperature in the room suddenly seems much warmer.

It takes a second for the rest of them to catch on.

“Oh, _god,_ Shiro!” Lance cringes, shutting his eyes in a clear attempt to cleanse his mind as Hunk and Allura hide their faces in their palms.

“Damn,” Pidge whistles. She alone remains unabashed. “Welp. Hunk did ask for an ETA.”

 _“Pidge,”_ Shiro groans. “Don’t.”

Her face breaks into a smirk as she shakes her head at all of them with a look of pity in her eyes.

“All this for Keith’s birthday,” Lance mutters under his breath as he stalks off towards the kitchen. “I’m gonna need a stronger drink to get through the night.”

“Bet I could still beat you at Mario Kart even while drunk driving,” Pidge says, rushing to catch up. “Pour me twice the amount you give yourself.”

“You’re on,” Lance says.

While the others do their best to try to forget the incident and move on with the party, Shiro begins to second guess the entire surprise plan as a whole. Having enjoyed his own fair share of surprise parties himself, he had thought it was a great idea to throw one for Keith. _He’s never had birthday parties growing up,_ Shiro had told himself. _It would be really cool to show him how loved and cared for he is,_ he had thought.

But as he looks down at his boyfriend’s last racy text, Shiro is reminded of how little Keith cares for pomp and circumstance and starts to consider the possibility that when he does arrive, he will want nothing more than to snuggle up with Shiro on the couch. In the dark. Beneath the blankets. Alone.

The thought brings to mind a fond memory of their last hangout when Keith had merely fallen asleep on Shiro’s shoulder. With his messy, black hair tickling Shiro’s nose and his arm draped across his chest, Keith looked the perfect image of peace. A wave of yearning hits him hard right then as he continues to stare down at his phone.

Perhaps he ought to call the whole party off.

Shiro steps forward towards the wall where the streamers are hung, his heart pounding fast. He has half a mind to rip them off and risk angering Pidge for all the hard work she put into it and causing disorder and chaos to erupt as the rest of his friends, now alert, start wondering if he’s gone mad.

Just before he can do something he’d inevitably regret, a plate of pigs-in-a-blanket appears in front of his face.

“Hey, you should try some of these,” Hunk says. The hors d'oeuvres in question are arranged beautifully in a neat circle with a sprinkle of parsley speckling the tops, but Shiro can’t even think further upon it.

“Hunk—” Shiro turns to him and stares Hunk straight in the eye. “I think I should pick Keith up from the train station.”

The words sound a lot more urgent than the situation calls for, but it comes across as desperate as Shiro feels.

“I'm having second thoughts about the surprise party. What if he doesn’t want to see people after the trip here?” Shiro continues. “Maybe he doesn’t want to be surprised. Maybe he just wants to stay home alone and detox from the train ride. Maybe he doesn’t want this much attention for his birthday. Maybe—”

“Okay, calm down,” Hunk says. “Think about what you’re saying. Do you _really_ want to cancel this party purely based on some unconfirmed whim?”

“What?” exclaims Lance, who happened to be walking by. “No-no-no-no-no, we put way too much effort into tonight to cancel the whole thing. If Keith is going to be unhappy about this, he’s gonna have to suck it up, birthday boy or not.”

Objectively, Shiro agrees. But as a boyfriend, he figures he ought to make sure Keith gets the birthday he wants.

“Let’s call it a compromise,” he decides. “I’ll go get Keith from the train station and you guys wait here and proceed as planned.”

“Well if you’re going to do that, you’d better leave now,” Pidge says as she walks in from the kitchen with a glass of some mixed gin drink. “You’ve got like, twenty minutes.”

“Just promise us you won’t get caught up in the heat of the reunion and forget about us,” Lance says. “Make it back here in one piece, please.”

“Yeah,” Hunk agrees. “We worked hard on this.”

“I will. Thank you for understanding,” Shiro says with a smile. Turning away from them, he walks over to the front door where he collects his keys, jacket, and wallet from the entryway table. “Be back soon.”

And with that, he pushes open the door and steps out into the cold.

— * —

Outside, Shiro gets into the car that Lance has allegedly “borrowed” and closes the door. Away from the others, Shiro has more room to think. Inserting his key into the engine, he starts up his Honda Civic and pulls out from his assigned parking spot.

It’s better this way. Keith already thinks he’s not coming to pick him up so there will technically be two surprises tonight. A win-win. And they would have the space for a more private reunion before Shiro brings him back to the apartment.

Shiro shifts into the leftmost lane at the end of the main road outside of his street, prepared to turn. As he waits for the stoplight to switch green, the bright glow from the grocery store at the corner plaza catches his attention.

_Hmm._

An idea strikes him.

Is it worth stopping by?

The lights for the other intersection turns yellow; he only has a split second to make up his mind.

The better question he ought to ask is: would it make Keith happy?

 _Yes,_ he thinks as the car in front of him moves forward with a rev of its engine. Shiro lets go of the brakes and rolls forward. _Yes, yes it would._

Once he’s made it out past the island, Shiro swivels his steering wheel sharply for a U-turn before immediately making a right into the plaza. Driving down the parking lot, he pulls into the next available spot closest to the entrance and gets out of the car.

Pumpkins sit in a neat pile at the front of the store, straws of hay stacked up behind them. For the past few weeks the place has been decked out in preparation for Halloween and the harvest vibe it gives off fills Shiro with a deep fondness he’s come to associate with who Keith is as a person. He can’t describe it, but somehow, it’s fitting that Keith was born near the end of October.

A rush of excitement spikes up in his chest when Shiro remembers that he’ll be seeing Keith in fifteen minutes’ time. With a spring in his step, he walks into the store and looks to the left.

Just as he expected, the front and center of the floral section is adorned with buckets upon buckets of the flower that reminds him of Keith the most.

Sunflowers.

Fiercely bright and far reaching, its vibrancy never dies out even by the end of this autumn month. Despite the association summer has with the plant, the season of sunflowers extends long enough to give itself over to October. Like the flower’s namesake — and much like Keith — its brilliant glow burns on and on, stubbornly outlasting until the end of time.

Shiro sifts through each bouquet, trying to find the best batch where every petal looks fresh and alive. He has about five minutes to make up his mind. After close inspection of all the sunflowers, he finally picks up a bundle he likes and heads towards the cash register.

He doesn’t stop smiling the entire way back to his car.

— * —

**K ♡**

\---- Fri, Oct. 23, 5:48 PM ----

_just got off the train_

_hope the bus isnt late_

_given its track record though, dont expect me for another 20 just in case_

_wouldnt wanna disapoint you_

You? Disappoint me?

Impossible.

_R U FCJCKN SERIOUS_

_I JSUT SAW TH BUS LEAVE FRM ACROSS THE STRET_

_UNBELIVEABLE_

:(

Keith :(

_just checked the app. next one is in 10_

_sorry shiro_

_be there soon_

Don’t worry about it — it’s not your fault.

I’ll be waiting.

 _( ._ **_._ ** _. )_

 

Shiro looks up from Keith’s typing bubble as he hears the door to the station building burst open. His heart races. As the passengers slowly file out, he spots his favorite mop of messy black hair at once. Dressed in a black hoodie and a red duffel bag hanging on his left shoulder, Keith trudges along with a sulky expression on his face. Shiro bites back a laugh. Determined to finish his text, Keith’s eyes are trained on his phone, his thumb still typing out a response he’ll soon realize can just be said in person.

Excitement bubbles in Shiro’s chest as he walks up to the station entrance, sunflowers in hand. He stops right in front of Keith, who spares a quick glance away from his phone in order to maneuver around Shiro before he pauses and does a double take.

His thumb hovers over the unsent text as his eyes shift from the sunflowers in Shiro’s hand to rest upon Shiro’s face.

Shiro has to hold back another laugh as Keith’s first words to him after two whole weeks apart comes forth.

“You son of a bitch.”

Rushing forward, Keith closes the remaining gap between them and wraps his arms tightly around Shiro’s torso.

“You fucking lied to me,” he says as he buries his nose in Shiro’s chest. “I knew even Lance couldn’t have had that terrible of timing.”

Shiro chuckles and tilts his chin down to brush his lips over Keith’s forehead.

“It’s good to have you back,” Shiro says, folding his other arm around Keith’s shoulders and pulling him closer. In response, Keith grabs Shiro’s shirt collar and tugs him down into a long, hard kiss. Forgetting that there are people all around them, Shiro leans into it with a smile.

“It’s good to be back,” Keith murmurs, his breath still warm on Shiro’s lips. “I can’t believe you got me flowers, you sap.”

Shiro laughs and pulls back, holding the sunflowers out before him.

“Happy birthday, Keith.”

Keith’s smile is large and adorable as he takes the bouquet from Shiro and looks up at him.

“Thanks. They’re perfect.”

— * —

 

**KEITH SMELLS**

\---- Fri, Oct. 23, 5:56 PM ----

You named the conversation “Keith’s Birthday”.  
**Friday** 5:56 PM

Just got Keith. Omw back.

 **Lance** named the conversation “hasta la later keith”.  
**Friday** 5:57 PM

**_Lance:_ **

_Damn it Shiro just let me have this_

_Also, noted_

_The cake is done and ready to go_

 

“Who’re you texting?” Keith asks from the passenger seat of Shiro’s car.

“Lance,” he answers readily before stowing his phone back into his pocket and pulling out his keys.

Keith glares at him as he starts up the engine. Shiro feels his blood curdle under his piercing gaze. He has to keep the final surprise under wraps and Keith’s looking at him as though he’s just been caught. Although Keith’s probably just annoyed to be sharing Shiro’s divided attention with Lance on his birthday, Shiro can’t help but feel a little guilty for keeping more secrets from him.

Thinking fast, Shiro lands on an excuse. “It’s nothing. He was just trying to schedule a time this week because I promised I’d look over his linguistics homework.”

Keith frowns, his arms crossed.

“Alright, alright. My attention is all on you now,” Shiro says as he shifts the car into reverse and pulls out of his parking spot. Reaching over with his hand, he takes one of Keith’s and interlaces their fingers together. “Tell me about your week.”

With a mollified grin, Keith turns to face him and starts to talk.

— * —

It’s 6:09 when Shiro finally pulls back into his apartment community’s parking lot. For risk of Keith seeing what’s on his phone, Shiro barely pulls it out to check for new messages before stowing it back into his pocket. The group text hasn’t blown up too much but in the duration of their ten minute car ride back, Lance has already managed to send quite a few snaps.

Holding his breath, Shiro looks up to his apartment windows on the second floor.

 _Good,_ he exhales. _They’ve turned out all the lights._

Sunflowers in hand, Keith drags his duffel bag out of his car and slings it over his shoulders before following Shiro up to his apartment.

When they arrive at the front door, Shiro stops and pulls his keys out from his pocket. They clink together as he sifts through for the correct one to his apartment. Upon singling it out, he inserts it into the lock and makes a point of rattling the knob as loudly as possible in hopes that the group inside would get the hint.

Shiro glances at Keith out of the corner of his eye. Keith looks a little worn from studying for his midterm late last night but otherwise content and eager to spend the weekend with Shiro. The sight causes a sense of worry to bubble up in his stomach as his earlier concerns flit through his mind again.

_What if Keith ends up disappointed?_

“Need help?” Keith asks, his eyes shifting up to Shiro’s. Shiro looks back down at the door knob and does his best to look unperturbed. “It _has_ been cold lately, if that’s why your key’s stuck.”

“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Shiro reassures. “I got it.”

With a deep breath and a determined resolve, he turns the knob and pushes open the door.

The lights come on at once. Shiro looks to Keith just in time to see him shut his eyes as a loud chorus of “Surprise!” rings out from the living room. Framed by Allura, Lance, and Pidge, Hunk stands front and center holding the birthday cake out before Keith, all twenty candles lit. All of them are grinning from ear to ear as they welcome Shiro and Keith home.

“Happy birthday!” they call out together.

Biting his bottom lip nervously, Shiro trains his eyes on Keith. For one long moment, Keith takes in the scene before him, shifting his gaze from the cake, to the decorations, to the tables of food lining the walls, before allowing it to settle back on his friends. The silence seems to stretch on for eternity. Shiro continues to stare at him, trying to seek out any sign or hint of dissatisfaction in his expression, but Keith’s face remains impassive. And then—

“You guys did all this… for me?” he asks.

Lance’s smile drops at once.

“No, Keith,” he drones sarcastically. “We sacrificed our precious Friday night to spend all this energy slaving away on your cake and setting things up just for the hell of it, because we hate ourselves.”

Keith turns to Shiro with a curious expression on his face. As much as Shiro prides himself for being good at reading people, his confidence often falls short when it comes to wanting to impress Keith.

“Happy birthday?” Shiro offers with a smile.

He watches with relief as the corners of Keith’s mouth stretch upwards into a grin. The gratitude in his eyes is enough to convince Shiro that his efforts have all been worth it.

Letting his duffel bag slip off his shoulders, Keith drops it onto the floor and turns back to the others.

“Thanks guys,” he says. “It means a lot.”

“Now he reacts,” Lance groans, but he’s smiling along with the rest of them.

Keith steps forward to allow the others to sing him a round of happy birthday. Grabbing Keith’s duffel bag for him, Shiro comes around to join in with the group from behind. As Keith listens to his birthday song, his eyes dancing with the flickering flames of the candles, Shiro realizes there was nothing to worry about in the first place.

With all of them having fun and celebrating together, the birthday boy is right where he belongs.

— * —

After a full evening of catching up, sharing stories about their campus lives, and playing through several rounds of Mario Kart — one of which Keith pulled a blue shell on Lance and beat him to first place — the group finds themselves piled together on the couch, cheeks sore from laughter and hearts drunk off each other’s presence.

Over the past four hours, they’ve eaten through all of Hunk’s hors d'oeuvres, most of Allura’s cake, and drank through more than half of the mixed punch. It’s no surprise, therefore, when Keith’s eyes start to droop. His head falls upon Shiro’s shoulder as he curls up against Shiro’s side. Fingers intertwined, Keith gives Shiro’s hand a gentle squeeze.

“Well guys,” Shiro speaks up at once. “I hate to break up the party, but it looks like the birthday boy is tired.”

“Oh man,” Hunk says with a yawn. “I just don’t know if I can even like, move right now.”

Clinging tightly onto his left arm, Keith buries his face further into the crook beneath Shiro’s neck. It’s a clear warning that if they don’t leave soon, Keith intends to ramp up the level of PDA until the two of them are shamefully embarrassing to be around.

Shiro doesn’t want to have to resort to this.

“Didn’t you say you were going to have breakfast with Shay early in the morning?” Shiro prompts.

Hunk yawns again, his arms outstretched. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, I suppose you’re right.”

“Is everyone okay to drive?” Allura asks as she attempts to extricate herself from between Shiro and Hunk’s shoulders. She and Lance doesn’t need to, but Hunk and Pidge do. The answer is obvious once Pidge murmurs a slurred and incomprehensible response, their bodies slumping sideways against one another in Allura’s absence.

“Alright, you’re staying with me for the night,” Allura tells her before gripping Pidge by the shirt collar and lifting her up off the couch.

Once the rest of their sleeping arrangements are settled, the group wishes Keith one last happy birthday before heading out into the night. Unable to move from the couch due to Keith’s head sliding further down into his lap, Shiro reminds them to lock the door behind them as Keith mutters a quiet “thank you” to them all.

Shiro watches them file out of his apartment. Lance is the last one out. Turning the lock on the knob from the inside, he waves them goodnight before finally shutting the door.

The living room falls quiet. As he listens to the sound of their footsteps outside recede into nothingness, Shiro looks down at Keith—

Only to see Keith staring back up at him, eyes wide awake and a smirk playing upon his lips.

Reaching up with a hand, Keith grabs a handful of Shiro’s shirt and drags him down to meet him in a kiss. Shiro’s mouth opens easily, his tongue sliding into Keith’s, into the scrape of his teeth. Before they can get any further, however, Shiro pulls away just an inch and looks into Keith’s eyes, a sneaking suspicion growing inside him.

“You’re not really that sleepy, are you?” Shiro asks, his lips hovering over Keith’s. The deep violet of Keith’s eyes are darkened with desire as he gazes back.

“Not at all,” he replies with a roguish grin. It’s enough to send an electric charge down Shiro’s spine.

Keith seems to notice this because he leans in across Shiro’s jaw until his breath is tickling right at his ear: “I haven’t forgotten about that text. I meant what I said, and I always finish what I started.”

Shiro doesn’t need to be told twice. Without another word, he scoops Keith up in his arms and carries him to the bedroom.

There’s still one hour left of Keith’s birthday. Time is on their side tonight, and Shiro intends to make every last second count.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hello to me on tumblr [@flusteredkeith](https://flusteredkeith.tumblr.com) or [twitter](https://twitter.com/flusteredkeith)! Also, if anyone lives in SoCal, you might recognize the nuclear power plant reference. ;)
> 
> If you liked this work, check out some of my other recent fics!
> 
> [homecoming](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12385476): Keith-centric Sheith fic; a bit of a character study on Keith's thought process in the duration of S4 events. 
> 
> [A Lift to Remember](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12189408): Allurance college AU where Allura begrudgingly picks up a drunk Lance on the way home from a party.
> 
> [tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11677323): Sheith, multichapter, Edge of Tomorrow AU (aka military sci-fi meets groundhog's day) - written for the Voltron Big Bang.
> 
> [the temperature's rising](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11422848): a short Sheith oneshot where Shiro and Keith get locked up in a closet after losing a drinking game.


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